WalkSafe: A Mobile End to End App

Role

UX/UI Designer & Researcher

Project

End to End Mobile App

Tools

Figma, Zoom, Figjam, Photoshop

Introduction

What is WalkSafe?

WalkSafe is a comprehensive mobile application designed with the primary goal of ensuring the safety of users while they navigate walking routes. This end-to-end app provides a range of features and services that collectively create a safer and more informed walking experience.

Context

The Initial Curiosity

I wanted to know what stopped people from walking. I wondered if it was due to urban planning and living in a walkable city, weather, limited time, or mental health. So I interviewed people who lived in walkable cities and suburban neighborhoods.

Instead I found a surprising reason

The Problem

Safety

Walkers had previous experiences of harassment and unsafe conditions of a walking route and were less likely to take a walking route from which they were unfamiliar

The Solution

A Safety Filter

Equipped with a customized safety filter, the cautious walker can pick and choose what factors into their walking experience

Why WalkSafe?

According to a Gallup poll

40% of Americans fear walking alone at night

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported

Over 2.8 million incidents of street crimes in the United States

The AARP found that

40% of adults over 50 would walk more if they felt safer in their neighborhood

But where did we start from?

The Process

Deep Dive

Competitor Analysis

User Interviews

2.Define

Affinity Map

User Persona

3.Thinking

HMW

Feature Roadmapping

Task Flow

Branding+ UI Kit

4.Assembling

Lo-Fi Wireframes

Mid-Fidelity

High Fidelity

5.Redefine

Usability Testing

Design Decisions

6.Delivery

Final Screens

Next Steps

Reflection

1

Deep Dive

The Competition

Competitive Analysis

Strava

Alltrails

Komoot

From researching the competitive landscape, I learned the importance of simplified navigation, community feedback and data, personalization, and customization. Yet these apps lacked a focus on safety and informing walkers of safety conditions of walking routes.

Don’t take it from just the competition. I also learned from our...

User Interviews

The Questions

What I asked

What prevents you from walking?

When has there been a time you canceled a walk?

How do you prioritize safety when walking?

The Responses

What I heard

“Not knowing if I’ll be harassed”

“I avoided walking down this route because it was too dim and at night”

“I take the longer route because it's more familiar to me “

2

Define

I compiled the research into the form of an...

Synthesizing the Research

Affinity Map

Initially finding a pattern was difficult, but after mapping out the responses it was easier

After synthesizing the responses, I broke down the map into a smaller cluster of maps

4 insights emerged as a result of the affinity mapping.

What I learned

The Insights

From there I compiled all the data into the cautious walker. The cautious walker was developed through an analysis of the user interivews. By identifying common behaviors and responses among users, I was able to craft a persona that encapsulates the typical user's needs and motivations. For example, the cautious walker revealed to me key safety concerns such as poor lightning and high traffic.

Visualizing the cautious walker in mind helped the process be less abstract and be more material and real. This steps compelled me to think of a central question.

The Problem Statement

Safety

The cautious walker needs to know about the conditions of walking routes so that they can ensure their safety.

3

Thinking

Brainstorming Session

HMW

I brainstormed several HMW questions and landed on a central question...

The HMW

How might we know about the conditions of a walking route?

The HMW statement became a focal point in which I could direct potential ideas and solutions. I had a brainstorming session to ideate. These ideas were evaluted and prioritized based on feasibility, impact, and user needs. The proces of brainstorming and filtering were developed through a

Impact vs Effort Matrix

The outcomes of the ideation matrix included a well-defined set of prioritized features and functionalities. Key outcomes included the development of a safety filter, reviews, indicator for safety, and customizable routes. Additionally, the matrix helped us identify potential challenges and refined our feature roadmap to enhance the cautious walker's experience. The results of which can be seen below in the

Feature Roadmap

The results of the feature roadmap provided a clear direction for development. The roadmap ultimately guided the creation of the '

User Flow

The flow highlights esential interactions for the user experience. By mapping out these interactions, I can create a seamless and intuitive user experience, ensuring that the design effectively meets the users' need for safety and convenience while walking. And created the...

What do we want walkers to feel?

Branding

I wanted the walker to feel cozy and welcomed. I thought about the symbolism of other objects and animals. I landed on the firefly after remembering an illustration I saw.

The branding was further developed through a

UI Kit

The UI Kit helped me to reuse components and elements with the design and with that I was able to move onto the next step.

4

Assembling

Lo-Fi Wireframes

The transition between the lo-fi wireframes and mid-fi wireframes left room for design to be experimented, realized, and changed.

Mid-Fi Wireframes

Through usability testing the mid-fi wireframes, I was able to learn what needed to be changed and create the

High-Fi Wireframes

5

Redefine

What I tested

Usability Testing

I prompted the participants to filter a route that was a close to the police station and to start the navigation.

Success Metrics

100 % task completion rate

4 minute task time

Few errors or misclicks

4 out of 5 star rating for satsifaction and understanding

Results

100 % task completion rate

3 minute task time on average

All users had few errors or misclicks

4.5 star rating for satsifaction and understanding

Iterations

Design Decisions

After noticing users not being able to find the tips, I rephrased the language to be more clear to the user

I also noticed users confused by the language of time of day and asking questions about it

Then I noticed how participants had a hard time with the amount of buttons in the screen. Other changes from the usability test included consistent UI elements across screens.

6

Delivery

Prototype

Final Screen

Final Screens

Next Steps

Create more task flows with additional features

Explore more designs

Explore more user testing for additional features and task flows

Reflection

The value of user research and interviews. Asking the right questions and taking the time with participants is valuable.

I struggled with feedback but I learned to overcome by asking for specific feedback and for help because asking for help isn’t bad. Designers continuously are learning and have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Designing an app and feature is challenging. Taking it one step at a time and breaking it down into more manageable tasks is key to success.